SEC commissioner Greg Sankey responds to perceived frustration amid College Football Playoff expansion stalemate

A few months ago, the College Football Playoff committee recommended that the field expands to a 12-team model, but after some of college football’s most prominent voices met once again and came to no conclusion, many were quick to point fingers at SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

From an outsider’s perspective, Sankey has far less motivation than other commissioners to strike a compromise and expand. Since the inception of the College Football Playoff in 2015, the SEC has had one of its member institutions in the four-team field every year, and the 2021 national championship game — set to kickoff Monday night — features two SEC programs in Georgia and Alabama. After Sankey made a number of media appearances and some perceived his response to the stalemate as frustration, he went on The Paul Finebaum Show to explain his side of the story.

Sankey, who originally served on the four-person expansion subcommittee, seems to regret his decision to favor an expanded field.

“I think my colleagues have identified issues. As we’ve met, some issues have arisen, a new some have arisen in different ways. Some have become more hardened if you will,” Sankey said. “And the question is, can those be softened, adapted, and the ability to seek a compromise?

Sankey made it seem like he — and by extension, the SEC — was one of the few constituents willing to seek such a compromise. After all, the most powerful conference in football, which is set to gain even more power in the form of Oklahoma and Texas come 2025, never even had to entertain expansion discussions.

“Some interpreted my remarks as frustration. Sure, that’s frustrating, you spent a lot of time you want to make progress, you want to come to conclusion. At the same time, what we as a conference have presented in this is an enormous gift,” Sankey said. “And perhaps tactically, as I evaluate my own approach, we should have said we’re not going to move off of four. Now, not ever.”

Sankey then clarified that the expansion was a necessary step for the future of college football, thus informing his decision to participate in such discussions. However, he feels like the SEC has give the other conferences and leaders a whole lot to work with, but they aren’t budging on a compromise.

“But that seems unwise for college football (to vote against expansion), and so that give upfront was to really match the intent of the charge of the Board of Managers, which is to explore the possibility of a new format,” Sankey said. “That informs any frustration you may hear in my voice is — we made an enormous step over here at the end not being able to get to a completion.”